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Friday, May 23, 2014

Release Day: The Ringer by Amber Malloy + excerpt & guest post

Happy Release Day to Amber Malloy and her romantic suspense novel, The Ringer! Reader Girls is hosting the author today and we have an excerpt and author guest post. Enjoy, thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

Newly single, cheaters decoy Lane Garret is excited about her fresh start and believes everything is at last on track. Unfortunately, her fantasy of the good life is blown away…along with one of her marks. While on a date, Lane not just witnesses a murder but almost becomes a victim. Saved in the nick of time by one hot detective, she wonders if someone wants her dead.

On forced leave due to a pending Internal Affairs investigation, Jackson (Jax) Thornbird agrees to do a friend a favor. Tricked into decoy security, Jax decides one night will be easy enough, but things go awry. When shots are fired, he grabs the girl and leaves the scene of the crime—a rash decision that could ruin his career. However, Jax has a hunch the intended target wasn’t the dead, cheating husband.

Excerpt

It was too dark
to see the woman’s face, but Jax recognized something about her. Streetlights
ran over the car, creating a quick shadow before slipping back into the night.

He couldn’t get
a good read on her face.

Even with her
strange blonde hair and oddly matched clothes, Jax remembered the decoy.

This woman
reeked girl-next-door wholesomeness, but without direct light he couldn’t place
her, underneath the heavy makeup and the two-times-too-small Hello Kitty tank
she wore.

“I know you,”
she said. It came out in a hushed whisper while they sped down Wacker Drive.
The underground tunnel had dangerous twists and turns.

“I-I-I
remember—” she stuttered with a bit more panic lacing her voice.

A sedan whizzed
past them, missing the sports car by mere inches. To overcompensate for the
close call, she jerked the wheel too hard, careening them into a massive
spinout.

Adrenaline
thrummed through his veins, and Jax reached over to grab the steering wheel.

“Put your foot
on the brake,” he instructed as they continued to spin in the opposite
direction. She didn’t utter a single word, not even a peep, while Jax
maneuvered the car into the slide.

Almost too late
to save them, Jax noted very few cars passed them before they spun out over the
median divider.

“I know you,”
she wheezed. The woman dropped her head on the wheel.

The car idled in
the middle of the road as Jax tried to calm her down. “You’re going into
shock,” he told her. “I need you to take three deep breaths, hold for five
seconds, then exhale. Come on, I’ll do it with you. One.” Getting close to her,
he inhaled and waited before he released.

After a moment
she began to follow his lead. Once they got through their first repetition, she
had calmed down a bit. “Hot,” she said before she snatched the blonde wig off
and shook her dark hair loose. The light from the street caught her eyes. Jax
gazed into her dazzling green globes.

“Yeah,” he
admitted as he stared at her. “I know you, too.”

Types of Villains

In my romantic suspense, The Ringer, the antagonist is very understated. What fuels him is
his ambition. However, not all villains are the same.

There are several types of villains that resonant with
the reader differently. Horror and Paranormals are wide open for over the top
psychos. Romance requires a more subtle meanie, someone who can blend into the
scenery and wreak havoc. Then there’s the good, intellectual baddie who comes
in the form of Sherlock Holmes’ Moriarty.

Over the top is easy to categorize. These nuts are
comparable to Jason or Michael Myers. A villain who merely wants to kill, there
is no reasoning with these maniacs. Perfect for the horror genre, the freaks
give the reader less talking and more chasing.

Subtle Psycho: most suspense romance have one of
these, unless it’s a historical (which is a whole different animal all
together). Not exactly the terminator, but a smooth talking norm that blends in
with the straights. Some of these are even downright charming. In Iris Johansen’s
The Ugly Duckling, the monster here
was the charming husband.

The genius seems to be everyone’s favorite.
Unfortunately, smarty pants can also double for pychos (Joker anyone?). However,
they do seem to have the most fun. These Mad Hatters are so entertaining they
can almost turn the reader to their way of thinking. For example, who doesn’t
dig Eric Northman from True Blood? Vampire
Bill is great and all, but Eric Northman is all sorts of Viking awesome.

In my heart of hearts, I have a fondness for the
villain, they keep everyone on their toes. More importantly, they give the
reader someone to root for. Even though I have a smidge of a tendency to get
warm fuzzies for a fantastic mad man, I eventually come around to the good guy.
Well, not always, but most of the time I do.

About the Author:

Amber Malloy dreamed of being a double agent but couldn't pass the psyche evaluation. Crushed by despair that she couldn't legally shoot things, Amber pursued her second career choice as pastry chef. When she's not writing or whipping up a mean Snickers Cheesecake, she occasionally spies on her sommelier. Amber is convinced he's faking his French accent.